Reed structure for progressive shedding looms

ABSTRACT

A reed structure for a progressive shedding loom in the form of a plurality of toothed discs mounted on bosses received about the drive shaft, the bosses being connected with the shaft by means of key-and-slot connections and snugly fit together throughout the length of the shaft. The discs are mounted on the bosses in a successively angularly staggered relationship, so that the teeth thereof define a helical surface and are adapted to effect beating up of the weft thread to the fell of the cloth. The disclosed apparatus simplifies mounting of the discs on the shaft and facilitates the operating conditions. The invention may be utilized to utmost effectiveness in looms of progressive shedding and multi-shed types.

United States Patent Titov 1 1 July 29, 1975 [54] REED STRUCTURE FOR PROGRESSIVE 3,687,171 8/1972 Strauss 139/12 SHEDDING LOOMS 3,744,532 7/1973 Titov 139/12 Dmitry Vladimirovich Titov, 13 Parkovaya ulitsa, 27, korpus 2, kv. 49, Moscow, USSR.

Filed: Feb. 4, 1974 Appl. No.: 439,613

Inventor:

Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 9, 1973 U.S.S.R 1880958 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Libby 139/191 Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon [57] ABSTRACT A reed structure for a progressive shedding loom in the form of a plurality of toothed discs mounted on bosses received about the drive shaft, the bosses being connected with the shaft by means of key-and-slot connections and snugly fit together throughout the length of the shaft. The discs are mounted on the bosses in a successively angularly staggered relationship, so that the teeth thereof define a helical surface and are adapted to effect beating up of the weft thread to the fell of the cloth. The disclosed apparatus simplifies mounting of the discs on the shaft and facilitates the operating conditions. The invention may be utilized to utmost effectiveness in looms of progressive shedding and multi-shed types.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FATENTEU JUL 2 9 875 SHEET PATENTEI] JUL 2 91975 SHEET PATENTEU JUL29 i975 SHEET REED STRUCTURE FOR PROGRESSIVE SHEDDING LOOMS The present invention relates to weaving looms and, more particularly, to reed structure incorporated in such looms.

The present invention may be utilized to utmost advantage in looms of a multiple or progressive shedding type, i.e., in looms where the warp threads form several sheds, each such shed being adapted to receive therein a weft thread carrier. The present invention may also be advantageously utilized in looms where a weft thread is introduced into the shed either with micro shuttles or with picking needles or rapiers.

There are known reed structures wherein the reed is in the form of a plurality of toothed discs mounted on a drive shaft in an angularly staggered relationship, so that the teeth of the discs form a helical surface and are adapted to effect beating up of a weft thread to the fell of the cloth being woven, the discs being secured on the shaft by means of a key and slot connection.

With these known arrangements, should the necessity arise of replacing either one or several discs of the reed, e.g. in case of tooth breakage, the shaft and all the discs are to be dismantled, which involves considerable loss of time and complicates operating of the loom.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a reed structure for progressive shedding looms which would facilitate mounting of the discs on the shaft.

It is another object of the present invention to provide means to facilitate the handling of the discs of the reed structure.

These and other objects are attained in a reed structure for progressive looms, wherein the reed includes a plurality of toothed discs mounted on a drive shaft in an angularly staggered relationship so that the teeth of the discs form a helical surface adapted to effect heating up of a weft thread to the fell of the cloth being woven, in which apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, the discs are mounted on bosses mounted on the drive shaft, each said boss being secured on the shaft by means of a key and slot connection, the bosses abutting against one another along the entire length of the shaft. The provision of the bosses makes it possible, when a necessity arises, to replace the toothed discs, without dismantling the whole shaft with all the discs, and dismantling only that boss or those bosses whereon the respective discs are to be replaced for some reason, eg if their teeth are broken. This arrangement does not interfere with the weaving operation, since the closely fitting bosses define by their peripheries a surface which is identical to the surface of the shaft. Consequently therefore, the toothed discs are mounted on the bosses in the same way they would be mounted on the shaft, i.e., with the discs being angularly staggered relative to one another so as to for the teeth thereof form a helical surface.

To prevent the discs of the reed from moving into the spaces between the adjacent bosses, which may interfere with the weaving operation, it is advisable that each said boss should have the end faces thereof provided with wedge-shaped projections and recesses intended for snug fitting of the abutting bosses throughout the entire length of the shaft, the plane of the slope of each said projection and that of each said recess being parallel to one another.

To facilitate dismantling, if necessary, of a boss on which the discs are to be replaced, it is further advisable that each said boss should have the end faces thereof provided with a pair of such wedge-shaped recesses and wedge-shaped projections, the plane of the slope of each said projection and each said recess defining with the axis of rotation of the shaft an angle from 45 to 55.

To prevent any rotation of the discs relative to the bosses, it is advisable that said "discs should be mounted on the bosses by means of a key having two or more splines, the surface of the mounting opening of each said disc having projections thereon, adapted to be received in these splines of the keys, to form a key-andspline connection of the bosses with the discs, the splines of each key being so arranged that the end faces of one of the crests defined by these splines are axially displaced relative to the end faces of the adjacent crest or crests.

During the course of operation of the loom, the rotating discs effect beating up of a weft thread and transmit a resulting torque to the bosses, so that the bosses are loaded by this torque.

The presence of two sets of keys, on the shaft and on the bosses, makes it necessary that the bosses should be made with adequately thick walls, which renders the bosses relatively heavy, takes much metal for their manufacture and puts an extra load on the drive shaft. To eliminate this drawback, it is expedient that each boss should be of an axially split structure and that the key connecting the boss with the shaft should be received in this split and retained by the edges defining this split, the key having splines thereon adapted to receive therein complementary projections provided on the surface of the mounting opening of each said disc, so that there should be an integral key-and-spline connection of the shaft, the boss and the discs. This structure provides conditions under which all the load resulting from the torque applied to the discs is transmitted directly to the shaft, whereby the bosses become practically relieved of this load. This means that the bosses may have relatively thin walls.

The present invention will be better understood from a detailed description of embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying set of drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a cross-sectional side elevation of a reed structure for a progressive shedding loom in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion of the drive shaft with the bosses;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the bosses, with the drive shaft not shown;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a drive shaft having mounted thereon a boss of the kind shown in FIG. 5.

Referring now to the appended drawings, a reed structure includes a drive shaft 1 (FIG. 1) receiving thereabout bosses 2, supporting thereon discs 3 which are provided with radial teeth 4, 5 and 6, the teeth 4 being short and adapted to propel a weft carrier 7 with a weft thread 8 through a shed defined by warp threads 9 and to forward the weft thread 8 toward the fell of the cloth 10. The teeth 5 and 6 are higher and are adapted to beat up the weft thread 8 to the fell of the cloth 10 being woven. There are mounted intermediate of the discs 3, above the shaft 1, stationary plates 11, each having one end thereof secured on a respective rod 12, the rods 12 being secured with the aid of spacers 13 in a support 14 adjacent to the breast beam 15 of the loom.

The support 14 has also mounted therein separator plates 16 and 17 with spacers l8 and 19 interposed therebetween to guarantee that spaces are left intermediate of these separator plates to provide passage for the respective warp threads. The ends of the stationary plates 11 are secured to underlie these warp threads. The separator plates 16 and 17 are secured in tubular guides 20 and 21. The above elements, i.e., the discs 3 with the teeth 4, 5 and 6, the stationary plates 11 and the separator plates 16 and 17 make up the cloth forming apparatus of the loom.

Each of the bosses 2 is secured on the shaft 1 by means of a key and slot connection including a key 22, the bosses 2 snugly abutting against one another throughout the entire length of the shaft, the cylindrical peripheries of the bosses defining a continuous surface identical to the surface of the shaft.

The discs 3 are mounted on the bosses 2 in a successively angularly staggered fashion, so that the respective teeth 4, 5 and 6 define a helical surface with a specified pitch selected to correspond to the number of the weft thread carriers extending across the width of the cloth.

To prevent the discs of the reed from moving between the bosses, each boss 2 has the end faces thereof provided with wedge-shaped projections 23 (FIGS. 2 and 4) and wedge-shaped recesses 24 by means of which the bosses are snugly fit together throughout the length of the shaft 1.

Each boss 2 has two wedge-shaped projections 23 and two wedge-shaped recesses 24, the planes of slanting 25 and 26 of each projection and each recess being parallel and defining with the axis of rotation of the shaft 1 and angle a from 45 to 55. Therefore, the edge between the slopes 25 and 26 equals 2a within 90 to 1 10. This selected angle of slanting of the planes of the slopes 25 and 26 is several times smaller than a possible angle of slanting of the discs 3 relative to the axis of rotation of the shaft 1 during mounting of the discs and in operation thereof, which prevents the discs from getting between the bosses 2.

The discs 3 are secured on bosses 2 by means of keys 27 (FIG. 3), each having splines 28, each disc also having the surface of the central mounting opening thereof provided with projections 29 receivable in the said splines 28 of the keys 27 to form a key-and-spline type connection between the bosses and the discs. The splines 28 in each key 27 are such that the end faces of one of the crests 30 defined by the splines 28 are axially offset relative to the end faces of another crest 31 defined by these splines. Therefore, the splines of the discs 3, defined between the projections 29, engage the crests 30 and 31, which prevents rotation of the discs about the bosses 2 throughout the length of the drive shaft 1.

All the bosses 2 have the same shape, with the exception of the end bosses 32 (FIG. 4). These have straight end faces 33. Axial displacement of the bosses 2 and 32 is limited by the housings 34 of the respective bearings in which the drive shaft 1 rotates.

The ends of the shaft 1 and the bore of each boss 2 and 32 have chamfers 35 (FIG. 3) which guide the ends of the drive shaft 1 into these bores of the bosses at assembling.

To relieve the bosses from a load brought about by a torque applied in operation to the discs, and, therefore, to ensure that the bosses have relatively thin walls, each boss 2 (FIG. 6) may be axially split, the key 22 connecting the boss with the shaft 1 being received in the split, retained by the edges 36 of this split and provided with splines 37. The latter are adapted to receive therein the projections 29 (FIG. 3) of the discs 3 to form an integral key-and-spline type connection between the drive shaft 1, the bosses 2 and the discs 3. The split bosses 2 are closely fitted together by means of wedge-shaped projections 38 (FIG. 5) and wedgeshaped recesses 39.

Assembly and mounting of the reed structure are as follows.

First, a separating grid is assembled including the separator plates 16 and 17 and spacers l8 and 19 placed at the ends of these plates, the thickness of each separator plate plus the thickness of the spacer corresponding to the combined thickness of the plate and binding wire in an orthodox reed and to the pitch of the reed. The entire assembled grid corresponds to a specified standard number of the reed, the overall width of the grid equalling the weaving width plus and additional width necessary for transportation of the weft carriers. Thus, this grid resembles an orthodox reed even in appearance and is secured in the support 14 of the cloth-forming apparatus.

Then the bosses 2 and 32 are mounted about the drive shaft 1, whereafter the discs 3 are put onto the bosses in a quantity equal to that of the separator plates 16 and 17, the discs being positioned so that the respective teeth 4, 5 and 6 thereof define together a helical surface with a predetermined pitch. The bosses 2 are fitted together by means of the wedge-shaped recesses 24 and wedge-shaped projections 23, and the keys 27, by means of the axially offset end faces of the crests 30 and 31. Consequently, the cylindrical peripheries of the bosses 2 define a continuous surface identical to the surface of the drive shaft 1, whereas the keys 27 of the respective bosses define a continuous surface identical to the surface of a single key,'which provides for unobstructed sliding of the discs 3 along the drive shaft 1 and the keys 27.

The drive shaft 1 with the bosses 2 and 32 and discs 3 assembled thereon is mounted in the bearings received in the housings 34 which are fixed to the support 14.

After the discs 3 have been assembled, the stationary plates 11 are mounted, the respective ends of these plates passing intermediate of the separator plates 16 and 17 and, also intermediate of the discs 3, the opposite ends of the plates 11 being secured to the support 14, Thereafter the spacers 13 are placed intermediate of the plates 11 and secured with the rods 12. Then the latter plates and the spacers are fixed with the aid of the breast beam 15.

Now the cloth forming apparatus is ready for operation.

When a necessity arises to replace one or several discs 3, the following operations are performed in succession.

The drive shaft 1 is rotated until the keys 27 of the bosses 2 are on top and the wedge-shaped projections 23 are set one above the other, i.e., in a position convenient for dismantling. The shaft 1 is withdrawn axially from the bosses 2, until the boss 2 where the discs or disc are to be removed has the shaft 1 completely slided therefrom. The bosses 2 from which the shaft 1 has been withdrawn lowered by their discs 3 onto the support 14.

This done, the stationary plates 11 are removed only above that one of the bosses 2 where the discs or disc are to be replaced. This is done by removing the breast beam 15, withdrawing the rods 12, removing the spacers l3 and removing the respective separator plates 16 and 17, while the corresponding stationary plate 11 is lifted by its end portion. Then the boss 2 in question is removed, and the disc or discs are replaced thereon.

Thereafter the parts that have been removed are mounted back in reverse order.

The structure including a driven shaft and the bosses may be utilized in a reed structure of any design, provided this structure has a reed in the form of a plurality of rotating toothed discs.

What is claimed is:

l. A reed structure for a progressive shedding loom, comprising a drive shaft; key means associated with said drive shaft; a plurality of bosses received about said drive shaft and connected each with said shaft by said key means, said bosses snugly fitted together throughout the length of said shaft to define a substantially continuous peripheral surface identical to the surface of said shaft; a plurality of discs having teeth adapted for cooperation with weft thread carriers, said discs being mounted on said bosses in a successively angularly staggered relationship, so that said teeth thereof form a helical surface and are adapted to beat up a weft thread to the fell of the cloth being woven.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said boss has the end faces thereof provided with wedge-shaped projections and recesses to provide for snug fitting together of said bosses throughout the length of said shaft, the plane of the slope of each said projection and that of each said recess being parallel to each other.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein each said boss is provided at said end faces thereof with a pair of said wedge-shaped projections and a pair of said wedge-shaped recesses, the respective plane of the slope of each said projection and each said recess defining with the axis of rotation of said shaft an angle from 45 to 55.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said discs are mounted on said respective bosses with the aid of key means having at least two splines extending along the entire length thereof, the surface of the central mounting opening of each said disc having projections receivable in said splines of said key means to provide a key-and-spline type connection of said bosses with said discs, said splines of said key means being such that the end faces of one crest defined by said splines are offset axially of said shaft relative to the end faces of another such crest.

5. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said boss is axially split, said key means connecting each said boss with said drive shaft being received in the split and retained by the edges thereof, said key means having splines adapted to receive respective projections provided on each said disc to provide a keyand-spline type connection of said shaft with said bosses and said discs. 

1. A reed structure for a progressive shedding loom, comprising a drive shaft; key means associated with said drive shaft; a plurality of bosses received about said drive shaft and connected each with said shaft by said key means, said bosses snugly fitted together throughout the length of said shaft to define a substantiallY continuous peripheral surface identical to the surface of said shaft; a plurality of discs having teeth adapted for cooperation with weft thread carriers, said discs being mounted on said bosses in a successively angularly staggered relationship, so that said teeth thereof form a helical surface and are adapted to beat up a weft thread to the fell of the cloth being woven.
 2. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said boss has the end faces thereof provided with wedge-shaped projections and recesses to provide for snug fitting together of said bosses throughout the length of said shaft, the plane of the slope of each said projection and that of each said recess being parallel to each other.
 3. A structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein each said boss is provided at said end faces thereof with a pair of said wedge-shaped projections and a pair of said wedge-shaped recesses, the respective plane of the slope of each said projection and each said recess defining with the axis of rotation of said shaft an angle from 45* to 55*.
 4. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said discs are mounted on said respective bosses with the aid of key means having at least two splines extending along the entire length thereof, the surface of the central mounting opening of each said disc having projections receivable in said splines of said key means to provide a key-and-spline type connection of said bosses with said discs, said splines of said key means being such that the end faces of one crest defined by said splines are offset axially of said shaft relative to the end faces of another such crest.
 5. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said boss is axially split, said key means connecting each said boss with said drive shaft being received in the split and retained by the edges thereof, said key means having splines adapted to receive respective projections provided on each said disc to provide a key-and-spline type connection of said shaft with said bosses and said discs. 